


strange love

by imposterhuman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, IronWidow - Freeform, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Secret Relationship, Tiny bit of Angst, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tonynat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-16 14:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20841014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: “Hands up if you saw that coming,” Clint said, shocked at the scene in front of him.None of the Avengers raised their hands.Natasha shot him a glare from where she was cuddled on the sofa with Tony. “Did anyone ask you for your opinion?” she asked, voice sickly sweet.





	strange love

**Author's Note:**

> title from the halsey song of the same name
> 
> for anon on tumblr: "I'm sorry about bothering you, but I wanted to ask you if you could please write Ironwidow alone in the tower being happy and domestic and when the rest of the team arrives they find the situation completely weird and difficult to accept"
> 
> enjoy!

“Hands up if you saw that coming,” Clint said, shocked at the scene in front of him.

None of the Avengers raised their hands. 

Natasha shot him a glare from where she was cuddled on the sofa with Tony. “Did anyone ask you for your opinion?” she asked, voice sickly sweet.

Tony blinked his eyes open lazily. “Are we telling Barton to shut up?” he stage-whispered, pressing a lingering kiss to Natasha’s cheek. “Because I’m all for that.”

“I believe that’s exactly what we’re doing,  _ Antoshka _ ,” she said, turning her head so that his kiss caught her lips. 

“What’s happening?” Steve sounded absolutely lost. “Are you two together? Since when?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “No, we’re making out on the couch in a totally platonic manner.”

Natasha stood, Tony rising to his feet next to her. “Are you guys going to be weird?” she demanded, raising an eyebrow at the silent Avengers.

“I’m gonna go with yes,” Tony leveled them with his best unimpressed look. “Come on, Nat, let’s go upstairs. Let them sort out whatever they’re thinking.”

“Yeah,” she said, not showing how their silence affected her. She was the Black Widow, she didn’t need their approval. She made sure her stare conveyed that as she grasped Tony’s hand tightly. “Lets.”

\---

Natasha knew as soon as Clint volunteered to stake out their target with her that she was in for an uncomfortable conversation. She’d been avoiding him since the reveal of her and Tony’s relationship, not really interested in his opinion on the matter. She’d never admit it, but it really mattered to her that he approved. And since she wasn’t positive he would, she avoided him. 

But that couldn’t last forever, as Clint had been opening and closing his mouth to speak for a whole minute. She waited patiently for him to find the words he wanted, watching as he paced back and forth.

“Are you sure?” Clint came to stand against the wall next to Natasha. He didn’t say any more, but he didn’t need to. The pair knew each other well enough that she knew exactly what he meant.

_ Are you sure about Stark? He’s the one you want? _

“I’m sure,” Natasha said evenly. “Are you going to be difficult about it?”

Clint considered her for a long moment. “If you’re happy, I’m happy,” he said after a beat. “Even if I don’t understand it. Why  _ Stark _ , of all people?”

“Because I want to,” she said, voice cold. “Because he’s a good man, and he makes me want to be better. Because I like him, Clint.”

“Fine,” Clint held up his hands in surrender, knowing instantly when he was beat and having the good sense to back down. “Sounds like you’re going a little soft there, Widow-  _ oof! _ ”

Natasha smirked from where she had her elbow at Clint’s throat, pinning him to the wall. She spoke too soon; good sense was never something that Clint Barton had in spades. “Still think I’m going soft?” she said, voice dripping with sugar and venom. 

“Nope!” he choked, bring a hand up to rub his throat when she released him. “Not at all.”

“Good,” she said, going back to her spot with an air of finality. “Stop chattering. We’re supposed to be keeping watch.”

\---

Bruce kept casting  _ looks  _ at Tony. It was getting irritating.

“Just say it,” Tony huffed, raising an eyebrow at his friend. “I can hear you thinking it. Spit it out, Brucie.”

Bruce shuffled uncomfortably. “It’s just… Natasha? Really?”

“Yes, Natasha,” Tony said waspishly. “Don’t be an asshole..”

“Are you forgetting about her spying on you and stabbing you in the neck?” Bruce blurted out in one breath. “I mean, she’s our teammate, and I trust her, but…”

“But what?” Tony said dangerously. He let out a long breath. “Look. I like Nat; I might even love her. More than that, I trust her, okay? We’ve both done shit we’re not proud of, including to each other. I don’t hold it against her any more than she does me. I know you’re just being protective, but I don’t need it. I’m a grown man and I can make my own decisions.”

Bruce had the decency to look ashamed. “Sorry, Tony,” he said. He shifted awkwardly, so Tony took pity on him.

“What’s the tensile strength on that blend?” he asked, deftly changing the topic back to science.

Bruce smiled gratefully. “For the record, Tony,” he said quietly. “I think you’re good for each other. Now, I also think we need to completely scrap this blend and start over; it’s a disaster.” 

\---

“Well, that could’ve gone worse,” Tony said, sitting down on the sofa with Natasha on their floor. She leaned against his side, sipping from her glass of wine. “I really expected more disapproval.”

“I’m pretty sure that they all know where they can shove their disapproval,” Natasha shrugged, smirking. It had been an odd test of their relationship, that was for sure, but she was fairly certain they were stronger for it. “Besides, it’s none of their business, anyway.”

“Cheers to that,” he clinked his own glass against hers. “Love you, Nat.”

Natasha’s heart stuttered to a stop in her chest. Tony seemed to realize what he had said, because he immediately paled and started to stutter something, probably an apology. She cut him off with a raised hand and a small smile. “Love you, too, Tony.”

Yeah, she thought as he leaned in for a warm kiss, they’d be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos make me a happy writer
> 
> come hit me up on tumblr [@imposter-human](https://imposter-human.tumblr.com/)


End file.
